PIB TrackerIndia builds a specialist cadre to fight financial and economic crimes
The EAC-PM launched a quarterly newsletter on economic security and hosted the founding batch of a new Masters in Financial and Economic Crimes — an inter-ministerial programme to build expertise against money laundering, frauds and cyber-enabled financial crime.
What happened
- The founding batch of the Master's in Financial and Economic Crimes (MFEC) visited the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) during its Campus Immersion Programme, alongside the launch of a Quarterly Newsletter on Economic Security.
- The interaction, attended by EAC-PM Chairman Prof. S. Mahendra Dev and officials, covered economic security, financial-crime mitigation and emerging threats to India's financial ecosystem.
- The MFEC is a first-of-its-kind inter-ministerial programme jointly offered by the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA), under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, and Rashtriya Raksha University (RRU), under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
- It aims to build a specialised cadre to address financial frauds, money laundering, illicit financial flows and cyber-enabled financial crimes.
- Speakers stressed technology-driven, collaborative and whole-of-nation approaches to strengthen India's economic resilience.
For Prelims
- EAC-PM: The Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister — an independent, non-constitutional, non-statutory advisory body that advises the PM on economic and related issues; its current Chairman is Prof. S. Mahendra Dev (appointed 2025).
- Economic security: Protecting a nation's economy from threats such as financial frauds, illicit flows, supply-chain and cyber risks — increasingly treated as part of national security.
- Money laundering: Disguising the origins of illicit money; India's framework rests on the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, enforced by the ED and FIU-IND.
- IICA: The Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs, under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, a capacity-building/think-tank institution for corporate governance and law.
- RRU: Rashtriya Raksha University, an Institution of National Importance under the Ministry of Home Affairs, focused on policing, security and criminal-justice education.
- Illicit financial flows: Cross-border movement of illegally earned, transferred or used money — a concern for tax, security and development.
- Don't confuse: The EAC-PM (advises the PM, non-statutory) is distinct from NITI Aayog and the Finance Commission; IICA (MCA) and RRU (MHA) are different institutions jointly running the MFEC.
For UPSC: The EAC-PM launched an economic-security newsletter and a Masters in Financial and Economic Crimes (IICA-RRU) to build a cadre against financial crime. Anchor the EAC-PM (independent, non-statutory advisory body; chair S. Mahendra Dev), the concept of economic security, money laundering/PMLA/ED/FIU-IND, IICA (MCA) and RRU (MHA, an Institution of National Importance), and illicit financial flows.
What it is NOT: The EAC-PM is an independent, non-constitutional and non-statutory advisory body to the PM — distinct from NITI Aayog and the Finance Commission. The MFEC is jointly run by IICA (Ministry of Corporate Affairs) and RRU (Ministry of Home Affairs); economic security is broader than just anti-money-laundering enforcement.
For Mains
Syllabus: GS3.16 · GS3.1 · Linkage L2
Anchor
Economic security as national security — building institutional capacity and expertise to counter financial and economic crime.
Substantiation (data)
EAC-PM's Economic Security newsletter and the MFEC (IICA-RRU), a first-of-its-kind inter-ministerial programme to build a specialised anti-financial-crime cadre.
Exemplification
Cite the MFEC and economic-security focus (with PMLA/ED enforcement) as examples of a whole-of-nation approach to financial integrity.
Problematisation
Sophisticated, cyber-enabled and cross-border financial crime, capacity and coordination gaps, and evolving threats challenge economic security.
Way-forward
Build specialised cadres and technology capacity, strengthen inter-agency coordination and data sharing, and embed economic security in policy.
Position
Government stance: a skilled cadre and economic-security focus, via a whole-of-nation approach, safeguard India's financial system for Viksit Bharat.
Deploys into: Economic security & financial-crime governance (EAC-PM, PMLA) · capacity building (IICA/RRU) · cyber-enabled crime & illicit flows · institutional coordination (GS3.16 money laundering & security, GS3.1 economy & resource mobilisation).
Ministry of Corporate Affairs · 2026-06-20 · PRID 2275799 · PIB source ↗